Automated manufacturing processes incorporating a high speed fill-seal machine typically involves transferring a container into the machine. The container may be a disposable portable container for storing a product such as a preformed flexible pouch or tray. The preformed pouch is loaded into the fill-seal machine to complete the steps of filling and sealing the pouch prior to its exit from the high speed machine where it is typically packaged in bulk for transit.
As the preformed pouches include numerous different shapes and sizes, a pouch must be positioned in a specific manner so that the pouches are correctly loaded into the fill-seal machine. Specifically, it is of vital importance that the pouch is positioned within the grippers of the fill-seal machine at a specific height. The positioning of the pouch is of importance as the distance between the upper edge of the pouch and the grippers affects the width of the seal and the types of seals capable of being performed on the pouch. If the pouch is positioned within the grippers with too much distance between the upper edge and the grippers, the width of the seal may be excessive and/or leave a portion of the pouch adjacent the upper edge unsealed which later has to be trimmed prior to packaging. In contrast, if the distance between the upper edge of the pouch and the grippers is too small, the width of the seal may be ineffective for properly sealing the pouch.
In order to keep pace with the high speed machine, a robotic transfer device is used to load the preformed pouches into the fill-seal machine. However, these robotic transfer devices must be precisely taught the pouch specifications including pouch size and the preferred distance between the upper edge of the pouch and the gripper member. The robotic transfer device teaching is time consuming as the high speed fill-seal machine must be shut down, resulting in a loss of productivity. A human operator must then enter the specifications of the pouch into the robotic transfer device prior to the high speed fill-seal machine being restarted.
In addition, the high speed fill-seal machine often includes adjustable grippers capable of adjusting the width between each gripper arm and thereby providing a versatile machine capable of filling and sealing a variety of differently sized pouches. Typically, the previously known gripper adjustment required the fill-seal machine to be shut down and the width of the grippers to be manually adjusted prior to the restarting of the fill-seal machine. As such, the additional downtime results in a loss of productivity and increases in labor costs.
Once properly positioned within the grippers, the pouch is moved through the various stations of the fill-seal machine. In order for the pouch to be filled, the pouch must first be opened and kept opened during the filling process. Previously known, openers included grippers which translated inwards forcing the side edges of the pouch together and/or suction cups which attached to the front and back of the pouch and translated outward to open the pouch. However, these previously known types of openers often do not fully open the pouch which prevents a diving funnel from entering the pouch. Further, previously known diving funnels include a rigid design which often damages the contents as they are loaded into the pouch. The rigid design of the diving funnels also resulted in jams as contents blocked the exit of the funnel.
Thus, there exists a need for a smart system for continuously and precisely positioning the preformed pouches within the grippers of the fill-seal machine, automatically adjusting the gripper width, and opener which allows a diving funnel to properly fill the pouches in the fill-seal machine.